Behind the Ring
by Breathesgirl
Summary: Centuries ago Eric had taken a bullet for her, long before she was his child. Out take of Disclosure. One Shot.


Sookie was in New Orleans for the last time. Protecting the Queen and her assets for the last time. Helping prevent a takeover for the final time.

She was laying in bed in the condo, thinking back over her long life.

One memory was foremost in her mind. The night Eric had taken that bullet for her in Dallas, the night he had protected her, shown her how much he really did care even if she had been too blind, or too stubborn, to see it back then.

She had heard them, the minds of the ones there for revenge, and managed to get all the vampires down on the floor just as the shooting started. One of the bullets had hit him in the chest as he dove to cover her, protect her, since he would recover from a gunshot wound. The odds are she wouldn't.

She had sucked that bullet out of his chest, not thinking twice about how it would make Bill feel or the consequences of doing so, not that she knew much about what the consequences were.

He had been good to her over the years, better than she deserved given how their relationship, or lack of, had been up until he turned her. Even though she belonged to another at the time he still protected her.

At the time she didn't know why she had kept such an odd thing. Now she did. She had loved him, even then, but had been too stubborn and proud to admit it even to herself.

She looked at the bullet laying on the table beside her. It still had traces of his blood on it, still smelled of him, her Maker.

She got out of bed and put the bullet in its little pouch, the one she had bought for it after the first time she had been allowed to go back to the farmhouse to retrieve some of her belongings.

It took some doing but she finally found the shop she was looking for. The proprietor was a witch and jeweller. She was going to have the bullet made into a ring for him and a witch was the only one who could do it since it was made of silver. She had strong feelings about this bullet. It was the first time he had protected her. Even though the whole Dallas trip had been a fiasco from beginning to end she had fond memories of it.

Eric letting her cry on him, mussing his shirt with her tears and snot.

Eric trying to make her laugh so she wouldn't feel so bad.

Eric escorting her to her room and removing all the broken glass and other contaminants from her arm.

His double entendres, and far too many offers of a sexual nature, trying to make her feel like everything was normal.

His worrying for her even though she wasn't his.

His protecting her from bullets and shrapnel, helping her when it came to dealing with Bill whether she wanted the help or not.

She sighed as she left the shop.

This time had been a long time in coming but she was confident it was their time.

She had loved him back then but it had hidden itself deep, not made itself known for a good many years.

She had been bewildered by his behaviour. He was open and forthright with her, at least with everything but his feelings, but she couldn't really blame him for not exposing his feelings to her. He had been just as bewildered by the depth of those feelings as she had been only he wasn't used to dealing with them. Apparently she hadn't been either for she couldn't admit to them any more than he could!

She took a last walk around the Quarter, visiting some of her favorite haunts, saying good-bye.

She had just resigned from Court. She would no longer be coming to guard Sophie-Anne when Andre was off on assignment. She wanted to spend time with Eric, see more of the world, have some time for herself. She would miss Court, the Queen, the Berts but it was time to move on, learn who she was now, what she wanted to do with her life. That was the reason for the ring.

Since the bullet had such a huge meaning for her she wanted to show him that even though they had hidden all of those feelings down where they hoped nobody would be able to find them she had loved him, even then. She had wanted a tangible part of him, even if it was just a small part.

Now she hoped to have more than just that small part, and his blood running through her veins. She wanted him, all of him. She wanted to give all of herself to him. She wanted to pledge to him.

The ring would be ready tomorrow night. Shortly after she retrieved it she would be boarding the plane for Italy and finally leaving the red clay of Louisiana behind.

There was nothing holding her here now. Her human family and friends had died off long ago and she had already told the Queen that this would be the last time. She was free to do as she wished now. She wished to return to her Maker once and for all.

End


End file.
